Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Millennials want food
that is fun, flavorful, fast, filled with discovery we are talking everything
from grandma’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes to a corner stores curried
vegetables on flatbread. Most important according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant
Guru® millennials want food that is inclusive of all the experiences they have
had, read about, or want.

Millennials are
searching for food with authenticity.Grandma’s mothers recipe, baked beans prepared in a family heirloom
croc, fresh flavor prepared from a food truck, a meal from a ten seat
‘tuck-away’ restaurant, Ikea enough said. Y-Pulse survey found five clear trends that
operators in search of Millennial customers should be mindful of and here they are:

1.Influential Foodie Culture

With 71 percent of respondents saying
they love to attend food-focused events and 81 percent stating that they enjoy
exploring new cultures through food, it’s clear that for millennials, dining
outside the home transcends even traditional “eatertainment” platforms to
become something that combines socializing, entertainment and education in one
experience.

Y-Pulse cites developments like the
rise of food halls, fancy food emporiums and food festivals that offer fully
immersive experiences as reflecting this trend, but it can also be seen in the
increasing diversity of food concepts demanded in college dining venues by
students.

Just as one example, students at
Washington & Lee University in off-the-beaten-path Northwestern
Virginia, recently voted for a quirky
Turkish/Persian/Greek food concept over more traditional Mexican and Asian
options as their choice to occupy a major dining venue on their campus.

2.Memorable Tasting Experiences

Nearly half (48 percent) of the young
consumers surveyed said they seek out restaurants run by critically acclaimed
chefs and over two-thirds (69 percent) said they love restaurants with chef's
tasting menus. Meanwhile, 61 percent wished they could dine on more foods that
remind them of their grandmothers' cooking, and 69 percent wished for foods
that remind them of their childhoods.

What to make of these seeming
contradictory responses, in which novelty and nostalgia teeter in precarious
stalemate? “Whether they target the nostalgia or provide sophisticated tasting
adventures, foodservice operators need to aim for ‘unforgettable’ experiences,”
is how Y-Pulse explains it. But one possible compromise area is menuing more
“comfort foods with a twist” where traditional favorites are served in
innovative versions.

3.Speed Versus Savoring

Of course, not all outside-the-home
dining occasions need to be once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Sometimes a meal is
just a refueling occasion, and for such instances, millennials are out to be
the ultimate no-muss/no-fuss crowd. For example, 48 percent of the Y-Pulse
survey respondents said they prefer eating meals on the go and 44 percent said
that convenience is more important than cuisine(!). Y-Pulse interprets this as
a demand for more grab and go, but it can just as easily be a demand for electronic
preordering and quick, efficient delivery options. It might also be interpreted
as a growing market for more service points with fast, convenient access such
as kiosk carts and strategically placed food trucks.

4.Food Trust

It is a commonly held belief that
millennial consumers have much more concern about where their food comes from
than previous generations. The Y-Pulse survey supports this, with 68 percent of
the survey respondents saying they prefer local sourcing of ingredients and 66
percent indicating they are willing to pay a little more for food that comes
from local producers.

This is certainly borne out by the
experiences of college dining operators, who see growing calls for more local
sourcing, a trend deeply burrowing into all onsite segments, even K-12 schools.
Operators can maximize the impact of these procurement strategies by
highlighting the growers/producers whose products are featured on the menu
through signage, menu board mentions, etc.

5.High Expectations

If equal yearnings for both grandma’s
and Mario Batali’s cooking or for memorable food experiences and convenience
over cuisine weren’t contradictory enough, the survey also showed 67 percent of
its millennial respondents saying they love ordering healthy options offered at
restaurants and 63 percent saying they love restaurants that offer
"over-the-top" menu items.

Y-Pulse explains it as “[t]oday's
consumers want it all” but perhaps it’s a bit more subtle than that and a
dilemma for foodservice providers who must cater to both indulgence and
temperance. Hence the presence of both salads and double cheeseburgers on QSR
menus and of mac and cheese bars sitting side by side with sushi bars in
college dining halls.

"We found that young consumers,
between ages 18 and 34, are greatly influenced by the foodie culture that
surrounds them," summarizes Sharon Olson, executive director of Y-Pulse.
"These trends highlight the direction of the foodservice industry in
future years."

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant
Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement
assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.usof Tacoma, WA has been the
global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Monday, February 27, 2017

With Alibaba,
Amazon, Aldi, and Lidl all focused on opening new units and new
avenues of fresh food distribution. Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® wonders have legacy
grocery stores done the same thing so long, done it the same way is there any
way they can adapt to the new evolving fresh food formats focused on grocerant
niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food in time to save themselves?

What other choice do they have
even a FMI thinks that the “grocery business industry truly is at the tipping
point of great change. More than driverless vehicles or delivery drones, the
digitally engaged food shopper will fundamentally transform how food is bought
and sold.” Wowthe team at Foodservice
Solutions® has been saying that since 1991.

1.Multi-channel shopping: More shoppers are buying more
of their groceries across channels.

2.Digital experimentation: Grocery retailers and
manufacturers are meaningfully experimenting with business models and
technologies to find their way online. However, the road to success has
not been paved.

3.Grocery saturation: Grocery shopping will reach
digital maturity and saturation faster than other industries, such as
publishing or banking.

5.Young and digital: Younger, newer and more engaged
digital shoppers adopt grocery-related digital technologies more quickly and
will hasten the expansion of digital grocery shopping further.

Regular
readers of this blog know companies the ilk of IKEA, Pinkies Liquor stores, and
CostCo are all selling both Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat grocerant niche food
will little sign of regret. Alibaba, and Amazon rule the digital world as
legacy stores fumble with click & collect most spending more on technology
than they receive in food sales.

Dollar
stores have defined the grocery sector as no longer relevant, resulting in 50%
fewer legacy grocery stores today than 15 years ago.There is no grocery saturation problem,
grocery stores have a Dollar store problem.

Gen Z
and Millennials don’t find fresh food discovery at a legacy grocery store they
find a maze designed to consume time exactly the opposite of their goals.Maybe it’s time that legacy grocery stores
quite thinking about incremental change and get some Outside eyes that can help
them drive top line sales and bottom line profits.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.usis the global leader in grocerant niche
business development.We can help you
identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment
opportunities.Has your company had a
Grocerant ScoreCard completed?Want
one?Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Did I really have to tell you what your learned as a
child the golden rule of business KISS
(Keep
it Simple Stupid).Well I have
to admit that the team at Foodservice Solutions® at times reminds me as
well.So when I read the results of this
new study I just had to share it. According to
Siegel+Galea global brand strategy firm
“Brands that embrace simplicity tend to enjoy increased revenue, valuation,
brand advocacy and employee engagement”. They revealed the top
finishers of its seventh annual Global Brand Simplicity Index.

To no one’s surprise
“low-price grocery chain Aldi retains the number one spot as the world’s
simplest brand, followed by Lidi, a German discount chain. Other top finishers
are Google, Netflix, Ikea, Amazon, KFC, YouTube, McDonald’s and Subway.”

Also revealed
“simplicity earns a premium: 64% of consumers are willing to pay more for
simpler experiences. Simplicity also builds loyalty, with 61% of consumers more
likely to recommend a brand because it is simple.”

Brands that don’t
provide simple experiences are leaving an estimated share of $86 billion on the
table, according to the study. “Ignoring that kind of ROI is crazy,” said
Howard Belk, co-CEO and chief creative officer, Siegel+Gale.

Maybe most important
simplicity pays off with happy employees. Sixty-two percent of employees at
simple companies are brand champions — versus only 20% of employees at complex
companies. Five out of six brands representing the restaurant industry are in the
top 15, indicating that quick service often means simple service.Our success clue of the day is KISS.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson as
regular readers of this blog know understand the undercurrents of foodservice
customer migration from legacy traditional avenues of distribution the ilk of
restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores to new non-traditional
outlets.Well HoneyBaked Ham does as well and this year
Johnson expect HoneyBaked will set new sales records this holiday season.

We all know Harry J. Hoenselaar opened the
first HoneyBaked Ham store in Detroit, Michigan, like most great companies, he
did so because he believed in an idea. An idea that produced what is regarded
today as the best tasting ham in the world. The Foodservice Solutions®
agrees with them.

Recently
The Honeybaked Ham hired the former head of the Lane Bryant
and The Limited clothing chains as its new CEO. Linda Heasley. She was
previously CEO of Ascena Retail Group, with responsibility for more than 800
Lane Bryant, Catherine’s and Cacique stores. Earlier, she had served as CEO of
The Limited. All that means is Heasley had what we in the grocerant niche call retail
chops!

HoneyBaked
Ham has understood the undercurrents of the evolving foodservice consumer and
expanding its retail offering well beyond it 400 café’s offering grocerant
niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food in multiple alternative
channels simultaneously. The results are
clear they have edified the brand with consumers of every age while expanding
brand relevance.

The
team at Foodservice Solutions® believes that Heasley is the right person at the
right time to evolve, elevate, and edify the brand.We believe she will expand avenues of
distribution, locations driving top line revenue and bottom line profits. Why
the product.

Yes, HoneyBaked Hans stands out
with its sweet, crunchy glaze enhancing the flavor of the bone-in smoked ham,
Harry’s patented spiral-slicing process made HoneyBaked Ham the easy-to-serve
centerpiece, that set the standard as a comfort food staple at holiday dinners,
Easter celebrations and meaningful meals shared and savored by family and
friends.

Does
your brand look more like yesterday that tomorrow? Are you doing what you have
always done and doing it the same way?HoneyBaked Ham is not.They are
growing with customer relevance.